Anyone
who practices a sport, or any other type of physical activity, has at some
point been in the situation where a certain movement seems “undoable”. Maybe
it’s a yoga pose, or the roll-up in Pilates, or the serve in tennis, or the
butterfly stroke in swimming. We practice, and practice some more, get some
advice on form and technique, practice, and practice again, and end up frustrated
and believing that, “This is just beyond my capabilities. I’d better find
myself another hobby”.

What
are we doing wrong? Why are we not ‘getting it’? After all our invested effort,
why are we still struggling?

No
doubt the element of technique and coordination needs to be learnt. That’s why
we take lessons or hire a personal trainer who teaches us correct technique and
corrects our form.

No
doubt there is also the element of practice (good old repetition) to learn the necessary
muscle coordination to get the movement sequence right. And for some exercises
there is also the need for muscle strength, and that takes time to build up.

However,
there
is an element that is generally overlooked, but should go BEFORE any discussion
about correcting technique or increasing practice hours. When this element is lacking, you are
setting yourself up for frustration and possible structural damage to your
joints, bones and muscles.

In
order to avoid these psycho-physical ailments, I suggest that, before you start practicing the same thing over and over,
you acquire a
good grasp of the following three items:

1. Your general “postural” state

The
foundation of all movements is in your “posture”.

The word
“posture” has a bad rep, but mostly because it is a greatly misunderstood term.

We
tend to think of “posture” as something static, rigid, tense, as something to
be attained and held onto by sheer muscular effort.

However,
our “posture” is determined by the RELATIONSHIP that our bones keep with each
other. Our bones meet at the site of our joints. To have “good posture” means
nothing more than to have enough space at those joints so that our bones can freely
move and change their relationship to each other. It is a generalized state of
free expansion, not one of tension and compression.

Your
posture is not made up of the ‘position’ of your bones, but of the ‘relationship’
they keep with each other. This relationship allows (or not) your muscles to
function at their optimum length and maximum potential.

Therefore,
when you just can’t execute a movement correctly, the first thing you need to
check is your postural state. Are you contracting or expanding? Is there enough
space in your joints for your bones to move freely and your muscles to act at
their optimum length?

Trying
to correct your execution of a movement before freeing up your general postural
state, is like trying to drive your car with the hand-break on: possible, yes,
but at a huge energetic and structural cost. If you insist on driving in this
manner, you’ll surely end up with a broken car in the near future!

2. Your ability to keep this
expansive postural-state during movement.

Once
you establish this state of expansion and joint space, you need to learn how to
keep it going while you move. This is not easy to achieve at first.

If
you’ve been practicing a movement for any length of time, chances are you already
have a learnt way to execute it that “feels correct”, even if this way isn’t
delivering the desired results. I can assure you that you have this recorded
sensation in your memory because while you were learning to perform the
movement, and were rehearsing it over and over again, you were doing so not
from this new expansive postural set-point, but from a different starting
postural state.

For
your “sensory-muscular memory” the movement has to “feel” a particular way, and
your brain (more specifically, your cerebellum) will do everything possible to
guide you towards the manner of using your body which produces that feeling.

Correcting
this “sensory-muscular confusion” is going to take some effort from your
consciousness and your attention. This can be more exhausting than doing
push-ups and pull-ups!

Items
1 and 2 are what an Alexander Technique teacher can best help you with. But the
3rd item will depend exclusively on you, and it is:

3. Remembering
to never start to practice the movement without previously: a) releasing into
your expanded state, b) having a clear idea of what the movement requires, and
c) having an action-plan to carry out your movement without losing your
expanded state.

It is
only if you REMEMBER to apply points 1 and 2 before executing the movement,
that you’ll be able to achieve conscious control of your execution, and thus
finally correct any deviations from optimal form.

How
important is this conscious control in correcting your execution of a movement?

Well, if you’re
distracted, or in a hurry to get immediate results, you’ll be less able to
control your impulses. And your impulse, if there is no conscious control, will
always be to do things according to your established habits. And your
established habit is exactly what you want to change. Hence: conscious control
is vital!

Although
you have the ability to do the harder thing (that which requires
self-consciousness and self-control), you are biologically programmed to do exactly
the opposite (the easier thing, the recorded and memorized program that
requires no mental energy).

There
is nothing wrong with living according to your habits. The problem is when
those habits are getting you into trouble or stopping you from achieving what
you want. The
only way of changing a habit is by using your ability to pay attention, focus,
concentrate and be self-aware… it is not a muscular task, it is a mental one.

DO SOMETHING CONCRETE WITH THIS:Choose a movement in which to
apply this sequence of thoughts.

Choose a movement you want to correct.
Example: I want to correct my tennis serve.

Investigate the different movements
that make up that bigger movement, and choose one of them. Example: lifting the
arm above shoulder level.

Take note of all the different
circumstances in which you do that movement in your daily life. Example: when I
try to reach something above me on a high shelf, when waving to a friend, when
hugging my tall partner, etc.

Of all those situations, choose one or
two, and commit to applying the 3 steps before executing the movement. Example:
each time I have to reach over my head to grab a plate from that high shelf, I
shall stop before starting to lift my arm, expand by releasing into my full
free posture, consider what is and is not required for the action (no need to
lift my shoulder), and smiling and breathing I shall lift my arm.

The first thing you
may discover is that you forget to stop, and only remember you meant to do so
when the action is already complete or underway. Nevertheless, if all you
manage in this week is to catch yourself once or twice before hurling yourself
unthinkingly into action, you will have achieved a lot: you have started to
break the habit… consciousness prevailed!